Since her years in college, Strossen says, the ACLU has made significant progress on several major civil-liberties issues, including the right to abortion--established in Roe v. Wade in 1973--and recognition of gender discrimination.

"The strides that have been made on equality under the law since I was a student have been tremendous," Strossen says. "Not that we should rest on our laurels, however. I'm working around the clock sometimes to make sure we don't backslide."

Today, she says, certain civil liberties are in danger in the U.S.

"I'm very dispirited about the current Supreme Court and the federal courts," she says. "They're nowhere near the civil-rights champions we had in the Warren Court."

She quickly adds that the judiciary is, however, still her "favorite branch of the government."

Strossen says she has never lost the faith in the power of law, which first drove her to become an attorney.

"I continue to think that our legal system is the most marvelous instrument to interpret the constitution, which says that all men--which I interpret to mean women as well--are created equal," she says.

In addition to frequent media appearances and speeches, Strossen also visits ACLU campus chapters. In addition, she visits other civil-liberties groups on college campuses, including the autonomous Civil Liberties Union of Harvard, which she lauds as a particularly active group.

"One of the things Harvard's student chapter has done is to actually be a force for civil-liberties issues on campus," she says. "I love the activism of the Harvard students."

Although as president she no longer argues cases in court, Strossen says she does take special interest in several current issues.

"As an academic and an activist, the issues that have been important to me are all the First Amendment issues," she says. The ACLU is currently involved in a Supreme Court case against U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno involving Internet censorship.

Strossen says she focuses in particular on the debates over equal rights, gender equality, sexual orientation, reproductive freedom and privacy.

Strossen has written a book on free speech entitled Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex and the Fight for Women's Rights. In addition to speaking out for the First Amendment, Strossen says she also tries to incorporate civil liberties into the courses she teaches.

Colleagues say Strossen has had a significant impact both as a professor and as an advocate for civil liberties.

"She's really been out front on the issues, especially contentious issues such as pornography," says Kristin Booth Glen, the dean of the City University of New York Law School (CUNYLS), where Strossen was a colleague.